Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corporation

Michael Hall Director of Safety Training and Loss Control at Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corporation has dedicated 37 years to electric distribution. His leadership emphasizes accountability trust empathy and adaptability guiding employees to embrace risk awareness proper methods and consistent safety practices.

Having worked extensively in safety training and loss control, what leadership principles have guided your approach to building strong workplace safety cultures?

Having worked in the electric distribution industry for 37 years, with the last 14 in safety training and loss control, my leadership principles have evolved and improved. Leadership, in general, is a living, breathing means of assisting others in their growth and success. My core principles developed early on. Before any managerial role, accountability is personal and at the forefront. One must own what and how they do things, as without that, you cannot lead others. Accountability, integrity, and trust go hand in hand. Your actions are driven by your values. As the years went by, roles grew, and leadership improved to better serve through enhanced communication, adaptability, and a more personal connection, listening attentively and valuing others’ perspectives with empathy. Leadership principles act as a consistent decision-making framework. When situations change or challenges arise, these guidelines provide a stabilizing compass, allowing leaders to execute tasks and support their teams without compromising on quality or core beliefs. [Marriott]

Reference:

Marriott Alumni Magazine (2026). adapted from Willes’ {Mark H. Willes} speech given at the Marriott School Management Conference, 23 June 2005. https://marriott.byu. edu/magazine/speech/seven-principles-of-leadership.

What do you see as the biggest safety challenges facing the electrical industry today?

I do not see a single safety challenge, but a combination of factors that reinforce one another. These include increasingly complex equipment, multiple circuit feeds and backup sources, the retirement of experienced personnel, and employees moving into titled positions before receiving sufficient leadership or instructor training. They may perform the work well, but we do not always emphasize the importance of teaching and leading others. Add a demanding workload and the familiar “that’s how we’ve always done it” mindset, and the risk of failure increases. I say this from experience, not to lecture. I have made decisions, avoided incidents, and used those opportunities to gain experience. In the electrical and other industries, arc flash and arc blast exposures are unforgiving, and Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) remains a recurring issue in serious injury and fatality incidents. The process itself is straightforward: if you are qualified to perform work that requires LOTO, you should also be qualified to apply it correctly. When followed, safety standards, regulations, training processes, company rules, and PPE requirements help prevent simultaneous exposure to multiple electrical potentials. Too often, shortcuts may occur during repetitive daily work because the risk factors are not fully understood or because the task “worked fine last time.” We have capable people in this industry who do not seek unnecessary exposure; they simply need a clearer understanding of what drives the risk and how proper work methods can eliminate much of it.

Can you share a lesson from your career that significantly shaped your perspective on risk management and employee safety?

We have our rules, our procedures, and company-provided PPE, but the following event was initially concluded as just a blown fuse in the control, nothing more. Little did I realize that my perspectives on rules and processes were soon to take a giant leap forward!

Earlier in my career, while leading the Apparatus Department and serving on call, our Distribution Control Center notified me early one morning that circuit voltage at one of our stations had dropped to zero on all three phases. Normally, I would have driven there in my personal truck to investigate. Instead, I asked whether any outage calls had been received. When the answer was no, I decided to wait until daylight. That decision proved critical. The next morning, I found that the SL/tank ground lead on the No. 3 voltage regulator had been cut at ground level where it connected to the ground grid. Had I gone to the station the night before, I likely would not have seen the cut lead and could have touched the control panel box. That contact may have exposed me to primary voltage while I was bare-handed and wearing leather boots, potentially resulting in a serious injury or fatality while I was alone in a rural substation at night.

We strengthen workplace safety cultures by leading with accountability integrity and trust listening with empathy adapting to change and ensuring every employee understands risks and protective measures.

From that day forward, deliberate decisions about the use of safety equipment became my standard. I brought that standard with me to safety. Time spent doing it correctly will always be less than the time spent responding to an injury or mourning a loss.

How do you believe safety leadership is evolving as technology and workplace expectations continue to change?

As tools and technology continue to advance, incident reporting has become more visual and data-driven; however, the underlying causes often remain rooted in recurring behaviors. By “behaviors,” I am not referring only to individual mistakes. I am referring to how well we ensure employees understand the process, why it protects them, and why it must be followed consistently, whether they are supervised or working independently. Safety leadership must help employees recognize their exposure to risk, understand how to reduce it, and know why the controls are effective. Improvements in incident tracking, evaluation, and data compilation have strengthened how we present information and identify hidden trends. Still, employee protection ultimately depends on effective training, demonstrated job proficiency, a clear understanding of the risks, and the proper application and function of PPE. Technology has now improved support for hands-on training, such as transformer banking, through scaleddown equipment that allows employees to make lead connections and test correct and incorrect setups without physical exposure. Training equipment is now available that allows training yards to be energized with primary voltage while limiting available fault current to a non-injurious level. This allows field mistakes to occur safely without life-altering exposure: when unplanned contact occurs, the system trips offline and sounds an alarm. As a result, apprentices gain realistic hands-on experience without exposure to injury.

What advice would you offer to young professionals looking to build a long-term career in occupational health and safety?

Once you decide to pursue a career in occupational health and safety, take time to research the specific areas that interest you. The field includes many paths, such as general construction, medical, mining, and utilities, including electric, gas, water, and communications, along with many more. If you are unsure which direction to take, explore opportunities in each area and identify the education, certifications, and experience needed to get started. Some roles require formal credentials, while others may not. Initially, focus on credentials that best align with your chosen direction; you will have time later to expand your repertoire. Talk with professionals already working in the field to gain practical insight and help focus your efforts early. You will find that experience can weigh heavily in interview requirements; do not be dismayed. The path to your desired career may involve a detour or two.

As you grow in this field, remember that occupational health and safety require lifelong learning, and there will always be more to understand. Find a mentor, build relationships with peers, and take advantage of conferences and other learning opportunities. These connections provide valuable avenues for exchanging ideas and working through challenges. Over time, your credibility will strengthen your authority; without credibility, it is difficult to be effective in this role. Safety leadership is a service to the workforce, when employees succeed, so do you. Be willing to listen to those in the trade, acknowledge when you are wrong, and stand firm when you are right. Your role is to help employees understand how safety applies to their work, not necessarily to teach them the trade itself. This is a meaningful field in which to serve. Understand employees’ needs, recognize their risks, and help them understand why SAFETY IS ALWAYS.